The present invention relates generally to grinding wheels, and more particularly relates to grinder wheel dressers.
The operating surface of a grinding wheel will become worn over time with use. The grinding wheel has small cutting edges on the grains of the grinding wheel that must be kept sharp to give a free cut and to produce a satisfactory finish on the work. Wheel dressing is the process of re-sharpening the tiny cutting edges. Typically, a hard diamond point of a dressing tool is used to sharpen the grinding wheel. The hard diamond point fractures the grains of the wheel and/or removes the dull grains entirely and thus produces new, sharp edges. It also cleans out the tiny spaces between the grains removing metallic dust and other particles which eventually clogs up the wheel face and makes it dull.
There are currently a number of dressing tools that perform the task of wheel dressing. These dressing tools, also known as dressers, mount on the grinding table of the grinder wheel. Each time the wheel is dressed, the piece being worked on (i.e., the work piece) is taken off and replaced by the wheel dresser. The wheel dresser must be brought to the grinding wheel, which can be located a considerable distance away. After the grinding wheel is dressed, it may take valuable minutes to get the work piece located again. The down time of the grinding wheel wastes resources and increases the cost of grinding the work piece.
The present invention provides a wheel dresser for dressing the surface of a grinding wheel. The dresser is mounted on the wheel column of the grinding wheel, allowing the dresser to always be in position.
The dresser wheel has an x-axis adjustment mounted on the spindle of a grinder for positioning the diamond tool along the x-axis. A y-axis adjustment mechanism attached to the x-axis adjustment mechanism positions the diamond tool along the y-axis. An angular rotational mechanism is attached to the y-axis adjustment mechanism and moves along the y axis in response to operation of the y-axis adjustment mechanism. The diamond tool is held in a slot of an arm that is connected to a frame. The frame is connected to the angular rotational mechanism and rotates about the angular rotational mechanism. The frame has an adjustment mechanism that moves the arm along an axis. A micrometer is attached to the arm with one end of the micrometer in contact with the frame. The arm moves along an axis generally perpendicular to the frame axis in response to a change in the micrometer setting. A dead stop hinged to the arm sets the diamond tool to a calibrated position.
The micrometer ranges from 0.5000 to 0.000 to 0.5000 and is used to set radii for dressing a grinding wheel with a convex or concave facing. Dialing the micrometer to the left of center sets the diamond tool for a convex radius. Dialing the micrometer to the right of center sets the diamond tool for a concave radius.
Other objectives and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.